When Eat. Live. Be. kicked off four weeks ago, I expected that this update would be filled with awesome tales of loss and amazing numeric progress. I thought I would be writing triumphantly about how much I lost over the last month. I thought I would be celebrating, and cautiously continuing to month 2. Something different has happened though.

See, while I’ve felt the results in the form of more energy and a trimming, less flabby body, the scale isn’t telling the same story. Not at all. Hell, I think the scale might have its own mystery plot happening, because what I am feeling and seeing are mysteriously unconnected to the number on the scale.

Well, maybe they aren’t such a mystery. I mean seriously. Have I been perfect with my eating choices? No, and some bad choices have certainly taken their toll on my weight. Although we cut back on takeout, we didn’t cut it out entirely. Have I been perfectly disciplined about exercising? No, I exercised a lot — way, way, way more than in previous months — but I didn’t do organized exercise every single day. I skipped the days where I was sick (I think that was 3 this month), and also when I had to shovel us out (at least once a week). I wasn’t perfect, and the scale is showing the imperfection. Read the rest of this entry…

When Will stepped off the bus today, I was shoveling the mush at the end of my driveway (courtesy of the kindly town plows!) for the fourth time today. “Guess what, Mommy?” he asked. “What, Wills?” I answered. “I am going to go down to the house and get my snow stuff on and go right outside to play,” he answered. And off he went.

A few minutes later, I followed. And sure enough, when I stepped inside our hall, there were Will and Paige preparing for some fun in the snow. And who am I to say no to outdoor play? So off they went (I went outside too … there was still more shoveling to be done).

I love that my kids love to play outside. I love that they love it so much that they will take initiative and get themselves ready and out the door. And I love that they love to play outside together. I swear, sometimes Paige just waits for Will to come home to have that special play time together. I hope that never changes.

Tonight’s dinner was a Puffy Prosciutto and Tomato Pizza. Why is it puffy? Well, if you poke holes in the dough with a fork before adding the toppings, the center of the pizza doesn’t puff up … but if you skip that, you get this fabulously bready pizza that’s filling, firm and flavorful. This particular pizza uses diced tomatoes instead of pizza sauce, which is a practical thing … not only are the diced tomatoes sweet and lovely, but instead of only using a partial can of sauce, you use a whole (cheaper) can of diced tomatoes. (Remember, it’s winter here, so fresh aren’t really an option.) And the salty prosciutto is a lovely contrasting flavor … Yum.

Have a lovely weekend! Read the rest of this entry…

Earlier today, I realized that it made so much more sense to move tonight’s post to next week when it will be more timely. I started working on another post, but the recipe isn’t there yet. And frankly, Snoopy here has the right idea. After shoveling snow a couple times today (don’t worry, we didn’t get a lot this time), and digging a path to the side of the house (way more strenuous), I am exhausted.

The food will return tomorrow.

Yesterday, I didn’t feel like eggs in the morning. Or oatmeal. Or cereal. Or anything vaguely resembling a “normal” breakfast. I just didn’t. It reminded me of my younger days when breakfast foods were persona non grata in my life. But I’ve made a concerted effort in recent years to eat breakfast because it’s good for me and I want to mirror good behaviors for my kids. Even though they weren’t home, I still wanted to eat something.

At first, I was going to suck it up and make a leek scramble. It would probably taste good and all … but then I realized that I seriously don’t have to have the egg. Where in the rule book does it say that breakfast must include breakfast foods, anyway?

Finally, I just did it. I sauteed the leeks until they were soft, then added some parmesan and finished it off with salt. Then I poured them onto French bread and ate them as a sort of open-face sandwich (and used a fork to eat the spillage).

It wasn’t traditional or usual, but it was delicious. I didn’t overdo it or resort to something convenient. But in it’s own way, this was convenient — heck, it took under 10 minutes to make. I loved every bite.

Do you ever do non-breakfast foods for breakfast?

Read the rest of this entry…

Everyone has challenges in their life, and when you are working toward a goal, those challenges can be minor bumps or major detours. What’s important is what you do about it. So, this week the Eat. Live. Be. crew is talking about our biggest challenge.

Talking about my challenge is hard for me, since it’s really a personal thing … something that creeps up on me and influences my body image — if I let it. Often I don’t, but when it comes to my weight, I have fallen victim to it again and again.

My biggest challenge is self-doubt. That’s likely to come as a shock to those who know me. Overall, I am very confident (ahem, some might say too confident — I don’t think there is a such thing as overconfidence though) and capable and driven. But sometimes, when it comes to matters of weight, I fall victim to that little voice that tells me I can’t do it.

In the past, I have triumphed over that voice. After having Will, I lost all the nearly 80 lbs that I had gained during pregnancy … plus some. I felt awesome, though not at my ultimate goal. But then I got a full time job and gained 10 lbs back (not feeling so awesome anymore). That little voice piped up, making me feel like losing that 10 lbs was impossible.

When I found out I was pregnant with Paige, I still had that extra 10 lbs hanging around. And though I didn’t gain that much weight with her (maybe 40 lbs?), it didn’t come off easily. Heck, I am still more than 5 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight and it’s been three years.

Over the last three years, that little voice has been working overtime. Every time I get close to losing, the voice rears it’s awfulness and puts me down. I stop losing. I get stuck. I give up.

It wasn’t always like this. I’ve been thin and physically fit for most of my life. Looking through pictures, I realize that I really took that for granted. Heck, I thought I was overweight … But I wasn’t until I had kids. Read the rest of this entry…

You never know when inspiration may strike. Today, it happened when I was checking up on a few blogs. Healthy Eating for Ordinary People had an amazing looking Whole Grain Fruit Crisp that reminded me of my Brown Butter Apple Crumble from this fall. Suddenly it was like a little bell went off in my head … how perfect would that be for dessert tonight? And so, this Apple Berry Crumble was born.

I worked from my apple crumble recipe to create this one, combining apples with frozen raspberries and blueberries . The result is a sweet-tart filling with a superb oatmeal crumble on top. The raspberries bake away into a syrup that engulfs the blueberries and apples. Delicious. Everyone loved it.

Perhaps the best part though was Paige helping to make it. She loves helping out in the kitchen, and doing whatever she can, so when she saw me slicing apples for this, she was quick to pull up a stool and lend a hand. It reminds me of Will at this age.

So, what’s inspired you lately?
Read the rest of this entry…

It’s a known fact in my family that strawberries are, and have always been, my favorite fruit. When I was little, I would dip them in powdered sugar, savoring every extra sweet bite. And my adventures in strawberry picking were always painted with sticky juice — all over me. Some things never change.

My kids and Shawn love them too. It’s seldom that a berry goes to waste in our house — we eat them too fast and eagerly. I can’t tell you the number of times that we’ve brought a quart or two of strawberries home and had none left by the end of the day.

That said, having strawberries in January isn’t something we typically do. We have frozen berries that occasionally become strawberry syrup for pancakes or find their way into a smoothie, but we don’t usually just buy strawberries in the middle of winter. They aren’t really that fresh or sweet at this time of year. Strawberries are something we feast on in June and July, when they are bright red and begging to be picked from local fields. The kids and I look forward to our days crouching between plants to find the best, most brilliant berries.

Still, the older I get, the more I realize that the rules I eat by are more guidelines … and it’s okay to break them from time to time. Like today, when I wandered into the grocery store and spied strawberries on sale. Yes, I bought them. And I found some delicate angel food cake cupcakes and a can of whipped cream (yes, a can … making fresh whipped cream wasn’t on the agenda today).

To bring out the best in the strawberries, I mixed them with a little sugar and let them macerate in the refrigerator for an hour. If I had more time, I would have let them sit for three or four hours. But even with just an hour, they were sweeter and saucier than they would have been otherwise.

After dinner, I tossed together four plates of strawberry shortcake for us to enjoy. Now, before anyone mentions my break from tradition here, I know that strawberry shortcake is typically made with biscuits. However, this is the version that I grew up on: sweet strawberries served on light, airy, fluffy angel food cake with a good helping of whipped cream.

And you know what? Even though it’s January, the dessert was divine. The kids were thrilled. Shawn was thrilled. And I loved it too. We needed this little taste of summer … especially with another winter storm heading out way tonight (our fifth in four weeks!).

Who says you can’t enjoy a few strawberries in January?

Read the rest of this entry…

My kids love fish (me too! and tilapia is a collective favorite) and I try to have it as often as possible. Not only is it healthy, but it’s easy — to cook and to eat. In fact, I’ve been teaching them to use knives and with flaky fish, it’s an easy way for them to get a feel for cutting without having to do a ton of work …Win-win. The only hiccup with our fish eating is that one of my dogs is violently allergic to fish. So whenever we have it, he has to go outside and stay there until every last morsel has been cleaned up and disposed of. Thank goodness for electric fences (and needless to say, we only have fish when it’s sunny as a result … the things you have to consider). Read the rest of this entry…

Turns out that the schools “great” system of alerting parents at our school of delays, closings and emergencies is a bit of a pain. I mean, at first glance, it’s great. Instead of having to endure the forever-long list of district closings being read on the radio, they call us. And text. And email. At once. So, I never have to worry about missing the message.

Except, school has been closed four times this month … and that means four (!) phone calls at 4:50 a.m.-ish to let us know.

I hate getting calls at 4:50 a.m.

So, I am starting to resent the whole system. Never mind that the weather sucks (today, it’s been a mix of snow, ice and rain. Joys.), they are disturbing my sleep. The obvious answer would be to change the phone number to one of our cell phones or turn down the call service … of course, then I would have to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and Will’s alarm would go off, so he woudn’t be going back to sleep.

I just want the snow days to end. Now.

Yes, the kids were home from school today and a little cabin fever-ish. Can you blame them? Thank goodness for little spates of pace-changing … like lunch time, when they happily sit still at the table to eat. And, it’s time for me to make myself a little something special too … since, you know, a Starbucks run is out of the question.

So, while the kids munched on turkey sandwiches and bowls of chicken noodle soup  for lunch, I whipped up this little panini. It’s a nice mix of salty and creamy, which a hint of crunch. If you like more crunch, add a little bacon. And on good, soft, toasted multigrain bread, it’s perfect.

Nothing like a happy little sandwich for lunch … Read the rest of this entry…

Remember last week when I mentioned that we have had three big winter storms in three weeks? Well, we are about to make that four in four weeks. It’s all anyone around here can talk about too — we haven’t had a winter like this since the 1990s.

Considering that, it’s pretty apropos that this week’s Eat. Live. Be. topic is Baby, It’s Cold Outside.

Seriously. It’s super cold outside. And when it’s cold like this, it can be really difficult to muster the desire to do much more than curl up with a good book, a warm beverage and a fuzzy blanket. But part of being healthy is sticking at it, even when it’s not at the top of your want-to-do list.

I’d be totally lying if I didn’t admit that in the past cold like this has been a major deterrent for me. Like huge, throw all that work out the window, deterrent. But this time around, I am not letting it be. I’m working my butt off to lose and keep losing (and it’s working). Read the rest of this entry…